SYDNEY, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The psychiatrist of a man who fatally stabbed six people at a Sydney shopping center in 2024 was on Thursday referred to a watchdog after an inquiry identified failures in his treatment.
Joel Cauchi killed six people and injured 10 others during a stabbing spree at a Bondi shopping center before he was shot dead by police on April 13, 2024.
The coroner of the state of New South Wales (NSW), Teresa O'Sullivan, on Thursday released an 837-page report following a five-week inquiry into the attack.
Handing down the report, O'Sullivan recommended that the health ombudsman in Cauchi's native state of Queensland review the care and treatment he received from psychiatrist Andrea Boros-Lavack between 2012 and 2020.
O'Sullivan said that Cauchi, who lived with schizophrenia, was weaned off his anti-psychotic medication in 2019, but that Boros-Lavack did not adequately monitor him for early warning signs of relapse.
"It was a major failing that Dr Boros-Lavack revised her view with respect to early warning signs and did not more proactively agitate for resumption of medication," she said. "The care that was provided was one of the many factors that led to this tragic outcome."
The inquiry found that Cauchi's attacks were rapid and unpredictable and praised the response of NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who fatally shot Cauchi less than six minutes after the attack began.
The final report made 23 recommendations, including for the state government of NSW to inform the public on what to do during a possible mass casualty event.
Additionally, it called for the state government to establish short-term accommodation in Sydney for people with mental illness and to reverse a decline in outreach services.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said in a statement that the state government would carefully consider all of the recommendations. Enditem
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